Gas controlled automatic firearm



Aug. 25, 1936. c, suTTER ET AL. 2,052,368

GAS CONTROLLED AUTOMATIC FIREARM Filed Aug. 8, 1954 2. Sheets-Sheet 1 Y @s "QI L ty @y 'L v /kf-----J *l- 0') Illfiar/nays Aug. 25, 1936. Q SUTTER ET AL 2,052,368

GAS CONTROLLED AUTOMATIC FIREARM Filed Aug. 8, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 C C C@ L l -ig D' l 7' Invent-@ns T L N Alva CYLWZES Suffer Eugene lef/'Z'zgied Patented Aug. 25, 1936 GAS CONTROLLED AUTOMATIC FIREARM Charles Sutter,

Suresnes, and Eugne Albert Dugied, Courbevoie, France, assignors to Societe Anonyme des Anciens Etablissements Hotchkissa Cie., Levallois-Perret, France Application August 8, 1934, Serial No. 739,051 In France April 4, 1934 Claims.

In the operation of gas controlled automatic firearms, upon firing and after the bullet has passed by an orifice drilled in the barrel at a suitably chosen position, a small fraction of the 5 powder gases passes through said orifice and has ingress into a cylinder located below and parallel to the barrel. With this cylinder there co-operates a movable piston, in parallel relation to the barrel, and which is pushed forward toward the bottom ofthe cylinder by a return spring. VThe gases act on this piston and thrust it rearward, thereby compressing the return spring. The piston head then emerges from the cylinder and the gases make their way into the surrounding i5 atmosphere. rThe kinetic energy, created under the thrust of the gases, is absorbed by the passive resistances and by the compression of the return spring; the piston completes its movement of recoil, the spring as it expands projects it forwardly, f, whereby another shot is fired, and the rearm caused to operate automatically.

. In the known systems, the expansion cylinder is sometimes cappedgby a sleeve which extends to the rear and surrounds the piston, thus eliminating all danger of the rer being hurt by the pistonV in its reciprocating movement. Such sleeve has then numerous holes drilled through it to permit of the free exhaust of the gases, as indicated above. 30 It thus follows from the ordering of gas controlled automatic firearms, that such arms have two orifices for venting the powder gases.

Through the first orifice, constituted by the muzzle of the barrel, the gases are vented to the front'of the rearm. 'Through the second orince, on the contrary, formed by'the rear section of the expansion cylinder, the gases are vented to the rear of the rearm..

`This fact has no harmful consequences in the 40 case of ring in the open; such is no longer the case, however, when ring under shelter; While the gases vented through the barrel issue outside the shelter, those vented through the expansion cylinder, on the contrary, flow back towards the 45 inside, thus poisoning the atmosphere in the shelter and rendering it unbreathable.

The present invention has reference to a device by means of which all the powder gases in gas controlled automatic fire-arms are vented to the A IO . 50 front of the barrel.

To this end, the expansion cylinder is capped by a sleeve surrounding the piston. Said sleeve thus already acts as a protecting tube for the rer.

55 Said sleeve includes furthermore longitudinal ducts formed in the thickness of its shell and over a suitable length thereof forward of the expansion cylinder; said ducts discharge to the front of the barrel and are open at their other end to the interior of the sleeve. They thus 5 form a circuit from rear to front and from the inside of the sleeve to the outside.

It is this circuit that the powder gases follow when the piston head has emerged from the expansion cylinder. The gases are thus compul- 10 sorily vented to the front.` In its return movement, urged by the return spring, the piston iinishes the scavenging of the gases.

No egress of the gases to the rear of the firearm has occurred; provided the sleeve used is suiciently long, the vent ducts will discharge outside the shelter; the air will not be fouled within.

The accompanying drawings illustrate diagrammatically and merely by way of example the application of the invention to two slightly different types of gas controlled automatic rearms.

In these drawings:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a re- 25 arm improved in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is the corresponding end View.

Fig. `3 illustrates a different type of firearm, also improved in accordance with the invention.

At the lower `portionhof the barrel C of the arm illustrated fragmentarily in Figs. 1 and 2, and parallel to said barrel, there is xed the expansion cylinder D which communicates with the barrel through the duct O. The head of the piston P may engage in'this cylinder. About the cylinder 35 is placed a circular sleeve M which extends to the rear, completely surrounding the piston.

A ange E of the piston in contact with the sleeve Mprevents the gases from seeping to the rear. In the thickness of the sleeve M are drilled 40 a certain number of longitudinal ducts L which discharge to the outside forwardly and which communicate through a milled cut T with the inside of the sleeve, on a level with the rear portion of the expansion cylinder.

It is thus seen that when the head of the piston P has emerged from the expansion cylinder D (position shown in full lines in Fig. l) the gases trapped in the sleeve can only make their way out through the logitudinal ducts L, that is to say towards the front end of the fire-arm. When the piston returns forwards, its ange E again forces the residual gases to pass out through the ducts L. 'Ihe extreme forward position of the 55 piston P is illustrated in dotted lines at'P1 in said Figure 1. Y

It is of course essential that the point L1 at which the ducts L discharge shall lie outside the shelter in which it has been assumed that the rear end of the fire-'arm is lodged;V in the example illustrated, it-has been assumed that the shelter is bounded by a partition F illustrated inv dotted lines. The point L1 must therefore lie forward of said partition and to this end the ducts L may;

be extended by the desired amount when this is necessary. l

In these conditions, allthepowder gases will be vented outside the shelterwithinv which the Y atmosphere will not be fouled.

. YIn FigT 3 the invention has been illustrated as applied to a slightly different,Y type of arm. In

this case, the expansion cylinder D is constituted by a bore formed in the piston P which then surrounds a xed head H. The sleeve is mounted inthe same manner as before andplays exactly-'the saine part.' n n It willbe understood moreover that these two examples of the application of the inventionjare .only given by way of example and that the ingas receivingV memberto close the gas ductl therein,V said, reciprocating member' adapted to move runder'force of gas in' sai-d duct to actuate thejbreech mechanism vand open said 'duct into thesleeve, and a gas 'exhaustv member extending forwardly beneath said gas receiving member and communicating withtheinterior of, said sleeve adjacent the end of the said gas du'ctfto receive and exhaust the operating gases towards' the `muzzle of thev barrel whenj the reciprocating member moves toopen saidductrto the r,sleeve.`

'2'. In an automatic gas yoperated gunglan'factuating device including 'ag'as receiving member fixed to,` the barrel near its outerjendgand having thereina rearwardly directed gas'k duct communicating with ther interior 'of thejbarrel, a sleeve Y 55 fitting tightly about said gas receiving member and 'extending rearwardly beneathsaid barrel, a pressure actuated reciprocatingmember moving in said sleeve and normally engaging with said gas Qreceiving member to close the gas.n duct therein,

said reciprocating member adapted to move under force of gas in said duct to actuate the breach mechanism and open said duct into the sleeve, and a semi-cylindrical gas exhaust member extending forward beneath said gas receiving member and having exhaust ports therein communicating with the interior of said sleeve adjacent the endV of said gas duct to receive and exhaust the operating gases towards the muzzle of the .barrel when the reciprocating member moves to open said duct to the sleeve.

3. In an automatic gas operated gun, an actuating device including a-jgas receiving cylinder fixed tothe barrel near its muzzle and having a central bore communicating with the barrel and opening toward the breech, a sleeve fitting tightly about said gas receivingmember extending rearwardly beneathv said barrel, Ya reciprocable piston movable in said sleeve and normally in the bore of said cylinder closing the same, said piston adapted to move under force of gas in said bore to actuate the breachrmechanism of theglm and open said boreV into saidsleeve, andA a gas-exhaust member extending forwardly beneath said cylinder and communicating with the interior Aof said sleeve adjacent the endfof said boreto Areceive and exhaustl the operating gases towards the .muzzle of the barrel when the piston moves to open the bore to` the sleeve. e n Y 4. In van 'automatic gasoperatedgun, an actuatingv Vdevice including a gas receiving piston fixed to the barrel near its muzzle and having a centralbore communicating withvthe barrel and opening towards thebreach, a sleeve fitting about said piston and extending rearwardly beneath ysaid barrel, a reciprocable cylinder movable in said sleeve and having a bore toiit around said fixed piston, said cylinderadapted to move under force of gas in thebore of said pistontoI actuate the breachmechanismof'thegun andrope'n the bore of *said* pistoninto said sleeve. and a gas exhaust member extending forwardly. beneath Vs aidpiston andV communicating .with the interior 'of saidsleeve adjacent" theendof the borerin said piston tor'eceive and exhaust theoperating gases towardsthe muzzle of the' barrel when the cylindermoves to open the bore to the sleeve.

5.. In an automaticY gas actuated gun having anV operatingmembermovable under4 force of gas tapped from the barrel andk an exhaust port for such fgas, a vgas exhaust member comprising a seriesY of tubes communicating with said exhaust port and extending" substantially to the muzzle of 'the barrel to receive the operating gasl under pressure and deliver it at high velocity towards the muzzle of the Vgun.' y

CHARLES ,sUTTEi-t. EUGNE ALBERT DUGIED. 

